One for Another
by ThisIsACabbeth
Summary: What if the Apple switched Kadar's and Malik's fates? What if he was the one that escaped Solomon's Temple? Would Kadar like the life of an Assassin? AU-ish, in which Malik dies at Solomon's temple instead of Kadar, due to the Apple. Damn summaries.


One for Another

Rating: T

Author's Note: Hey guys! Another fic that I'm pulling out of nowhere. I don't know where this came from, it just appeared. It is going to have multiple chapters, so please look forward to each new update! I've enjoyed writing this first part greatly, and I've actually cried while writing it. ((wow look at me, this gives me the feels)) Anyway, please enjoy this fic, and please R & R!

xxxxx

Pairs of amber, dark brown, and blue eyes gazed down at the small group of Templars idly standing around, looking rather bored as they messed with their armor and meandered about the center of the room. Altair began to move from the wall, when a hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back roughly.

"What do you think you are doing?" Malik hissed. Altair narrowed his eyes, shrugging away from Malik's grasp.

"What do you think? Robert de Sable is down there somewhere. He is just taunting us, toying with us. We should just go and kill them all."

"Have you forgotten the Creed Altair? Or did that old man mean nothing to you?" Malik's eyes narrowed, Altair only scoffed and turned away from the other white-robed assassin. The action caused Malik to growl, albeit quietly, and grab Altair's robes, forcing him to turn around and look at him.

Kadar fretted. They should not be doing this now. Not while they were mere inches within sight and earshot of the enemy. "Brother, Altair, please calm down!" he pleaded, pushing the two apart. Both men huffed in annoyance and turned away from each other.

"Fine…if you will not make a move, I will," Altair stepped to the edge of the stone platform they were standing on.

"Altair, don't -," Malik watched Altair jump down, his words cut off by the soft clap of leather meeting with stone. His rage surged and he whipped around to face his brother. Kadar was watching Altair walk from his new hiding place into the center of the room, adoration sparkling in his eyes. Malik frowned and reached over, rustling his brother's hair through his hood. "Come along, Kadar."

Kadar was jostled back to attention by the feeling of his brother's hand. He smiled warmly at Malik and followed him as they both jumped gracefully down, their boots making the same soft clap. Altair was waiting for them, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently against the floor.

"About time."

"Save it." Malik retorted, peeking behind the rubble to see that the Templar guards had backed further up into the room. The three watched as Robert de Sable walked in, the guards standing at attention as he walked to the chest that rested in the very center.

"What is that?" Altair felt himself take a sharp intake of breath, his heart pounding. Whatever it was made him excited.

Malik's eyes widened. "The Ark…" he breathed. Altair shot him a look.

"That is just myth. Lies to feed novices before bed," he focused his attention back on de Sable, who was kneeling before the chest, working on the lock while the guards kept watch, suddenly very attentive. "Robert de Sable…his life is mine…" he began to step out of their hiding place, before Malik pulled him back.

"Idiot! Discretion! You have already broken two of the tenets, must you break the third?" Malik's eyes bore into Altair's. He was worried for his younger brother that was just listening to them with a worried look on his face, eyes occasionally glancing over to see if they had been spotted in the little spat. Altair only scoffed and broke away from Malik's grasp once again, striding out of their hiding place. Malik practically snarled and looked back at Kadar, whose gaze was once again transfixed on Altair. He shook Kadar's shoulder, pulling him out of his stupor, motioning to follow Altair.

"Hold Templars!" Altair shouted, his voice echoed against the stone walls. "You are not the only ones with business here."

Robert de Sable turned around slowly. Kadar's eyes widened a bit, stepping a little closer to his brother. The man was huge, even Altair had to look up at him. "Assassins," he grinned. "What business do you have here?"

Altair stepped forward, hidden blade unsheathing. "Blood." He lunged forward, but Robert caught his arm easily and flung him to the side. Kadar gasped and stepped forward, but Malik held him back, his eyes switching between the two guards that were staring them down.

"You know not the things you meddle in, Assassin," Robert hissed out the words as he stood over Altair. "I spare you only so you can deliver a message to your master," he knelt down so he was close to Altair's face as he whispered. "The Holy Land is lost to him and his. He should flee while he still has a chance. Stay, and you will all die." Robert smirked as he said the last sentence, drawling out the words. He picked up Altair by his robes and threw him out of the room, looking mightily pleased as he crashed into some scaffolding and bounced twice before slamming into a wall.

Altair watched as part of the temple collapsed, rubble sealing him off from Malik and Kadar. He heard Robert shout through the rock, "Men, to arms! Kill the Assassins!" and soon after that shouts and the clanging of swords. He punched the ground in frustration, struggling to get up as every muscle in his body screamed at him. He turned to leave, looking back at the rubble one last time before jumping onto the stone platform.

xxxxx

Kadar stared at the rubble covered entrance, his whole body shaking. Fear ripped through his entire being as the Templars began to advance upon them. Robert had a wicked grin on his face as he drew his sword, shouting to the high heavens.

"Men, to arms! Kill the Assassins!" The guards didn't need to be told twice. They charged, blades quickly being drawn and thrust forward.

"Kadar, move!" Kadar heard Malik shout. In a flurry of footsteps, Kadar twirled, gracefully avoiding Templar steel. Senses and trained instinct coming back to him, Kadar pulled out his sword and blocked the next attack that was aimed at him, flinching at the sparks that came from the meeting of the metals.

The Templar that Kadar was sparring with smiled and pushed against Kadar's blade. Kadar grunted with the added weight, he wasn't that strong, and with the armor the Templar was wearing, he couldn't judge the Templar's strength. He repositioned his feet and attempted to push back, letting out a frustrated breath when his feet gave slightly on the slippery smooth stone floor. He looked at the Templar and blinked in confusion when a voice reached his ears…or his head rather.

'Fight.' Isn't that what he was doing? Kadar noticed that the voice seemed to echo, and it was far too soft to come from Malik, plus the Templar he was fighting with – he jumped away and his blade was quickly met by the Templar's in a flurry of sparks – wouldn't tell him to fight.

'You will live.' The voice echoed in his head again. The way it sounded was like a fresh breeze that he missed oh-so dearly right now. He suddenly felt strength surging through his body, strength that was alien to him, strength that didn't belong to him. He started pushing the Templar back, his feet no longer slipping on the stone. He heard a cheer from Malik, followed by a clang of swords.

Soon Kadar had the Templar pushed up against a wall, the arms of the older trembling under the sudden strength of the younger. With quick hands Kadar took one hand off of the handle of his blade and dug into his leather belt, taking out his dagger. He held it to the Templar's uncovered throat and whispered quietly, "Make peace with your god," before he slit the throat of his enemy. Kadar watched as the Templar slowly became limp, before gently lowering the body onto the ground. He turned his attention to Malik's situation and saw that he had already slain the other Templar that he was fighting.

"What will you do now, de Sable?" Malik asked, sheathing his rapier and walking forward cautiously, now even with Kadar.

Robert's eyes were calculating. "I see now that I might have miscalculated somewhere along the way, but no matter," he snapped, the sound echoing against the walls. "I always have back-up plans." Five more Templars ran in, surrounding them. "What now, Assassins?" Robert smirked, crossing his arms.

The fear gripped Kadar again, the alien strength that had invaded his body before now gone, drained. "Malik?" he turned toward his brother, who was scowling.

"What now, you ask?" Malik's voice boomed, pulling out his rapier once more and holding it tightly in his right hand. "We fight."

The response, Kadar noticed, sent a shiver down de Sable's spine. He smirked and nodded in response. "So be it then." His attention turned to his men and he gave a deft nod. The Templars grinned and charged, shouting. Malik spun around, shouting a quick order to Kadar. Kadar nodded and was back to back with Malik almost instantly, swords clashing swords, smaller blades blocking cheap attacks and grunts of exertion sounding from the Assassins as they tried to fend off the Templars that ached to have their blood on their steel.

"Kadar," Malik's voice was breathless as he pushed a Templar off of him, blocking another attack as it was delivered. Kadar glanced behind him to acknowledge he heard his brother, struggling against a Templar that was pushing down with all his weight on his sword. "I will distract these men from you. I want you to go to the Ark and retrieve the treasure," he blocked another attack and sunk his hidden blade into the throat of the assailant. One less to deal with. "But wait for my word." Kadar made only a slight nod, so as to not tip the attackers off to their plan. A few more blows were exchanged before Malik made his move. He pushed off a Templar that he was sparring with, tossing him into another, sending them into a heap of tangled, confused limbs. He then twisted and moved to the side, quickly stabbing the guard that Kadar was fighting with in the side. Another one to not worry about. The last one standing quickly exchanged blows with him, and Malik hissed, "Kadar, go!"

Kadar scrambled, jumping over the bleeding body and sprinting to the Ark. He skidded to a stop when he realized he had to go through a very large obstacle. Robert de Sable.

The large man stared down at Kadar, eyebrow raised in slight interest. Kadar's chest rose and fell in uneven intervals, his eyes wide as their greatest enemy, their most powerful foe stood nothing more than a few feet before him. "You have caused a lot of trouble, little Assassin."

Kadar swallowed his fear and tried to find his voice. He was an Assassin for Allah's sake! Still a novice, but an Assassin no less. "The Brotherhood will prevail, de Sable," finding his voice unnaturally steady for what he was feeling right now. A smirk tugged at Robert's lips and his hands found their way around Kadar's neck quickly, squeezing. Kadar let out a breath in surprise, his sword dropping from his hand as he gripped Robert's wrist and struggled. He instantly regretted letting out the breath as Robert's fingers didn't allow any air to come back into his lungs, black dots started clouding his vision.

"Your other friend has already left you. Haven't you realized it, little Assassin? You will die here. There is no hope for you two. You will die here, alone. What kind of Brotherhood allows that?" Kadar only choked in response, drool dripping out of the corner of his mouth. His vision was now becoming completely black, his grip on Robert's wrist slackening, sound the only thing invading his mind now. He heard Robert's laughter, and the clang of blades. Kadar's oxygen deprived brain sharpened and focused on the clangs.

"Kadar!" His brother's voice shouted, invading his darkening mind. It was all his brain needed. Instincts kicked in and his body moved, reaching into his belt and pulling out the dagger once more. His teary eyes looked at Robert and he stabbed the short blade into the hand that was holding onto his throat.

Robert's laughter was interrupted by his scream of pain, he let go, recoiling his hand. The dagger was lodged in between his index finger and his thumb, right next to bone. He groaned in pain and glared at the crumpled heap that was Kadar. "Fucking piece of shit!" he shouted, trying to dislodge the dagger from the sensitive area.

Kadar coughed, wiping the tears from his eyes and the drool from his mouth. Oxygen came rushing back into his lungs like the blast of wind, and he was grateful, but he was also dizzy. His mind was clouded, and he wobbled as he got onto his feet, stumbling over to the Ark. As he got closer, he heard the voice again.

'Fight.' 'You will live.' 'Fate favors you.' 'One for another.'

The last line spoken made him nervous, what did it mean? He collapsed onto the ground, panting like he ran a mile to get over here and started fiddling with the chest, surprised to find that it was unlocked. Wasn't Robert having trouble with it earlier? A golden, pulsating glow emanated from the box, that strange strength from before flowed through Kadar again. His head pounded in his skull as he reached in, grabbing the spherical treasure and holding it delicately. He shivered, feeling the urge to turn around and gasped at what he saw. Time around him was frozen in a golden mist that was wafting out of the treasure that he held in his hand.

He got up from his kneeling position, the strength given to him from the object helping him greatly. He noticed that Robert de Sable had been walking over to him, and was now caught in mid stride. His right fist was clenched around his sword, a drop of blood suspended in free-fall from the wound his dagger had created. A quick glance over Robert's shoulders revealed that Malik was in mid-jump, left arm cocked back, ready to strike out at the shocked Templar below him. Kadar somehow knew that this wasn't what the treasure wanted to show him. He looked down at it, but it just simply pulsated at its same frequency, causing Kadar's head to hurt once more. He ran his fingers across it experimentally, and it flashed brightly, encasing only him in the mist this time. He couldn't see his brother, the Templars, or Robert de Sable anymore.

"What are you doing?" he asked the inanimate object, holding it up to his face. The treasure simply started glowing again, showing him images. They were of him. The treasure lit up brilliantly again as the pictures began to move. Kadar's blue eyes widened as he watched himself get stabbed in the stomach by Robert after throwing the orb to Malik.

"_Go,"_ his broken voice had whispered. Kadar noticed that Malik's arm had been wounded somehow, probably in the uneven match against all those Templars. He watched as the blade from his stomach was removed and he was once again violently stabbed in the chest, the sword remaining there as he crumpled to the ground, lying on his side. A small smile and tears remained on his dying face as he whispered his last few words, _"Safety and peace…brother."_

The scene that the treasure had showed him disappeared, leaving Kadar to stare into the expanse of swirling, golden mist. He was dumbfounded; the orb had just showed him his own death, the death that was bound to happen in a few moments. He shivered, gripping the treasure tighter in his grasp. "I don't want to die," he whispered, bringing it up to his lips. "I don't want to die." He spoke against it, and his words seemed to have an effect on the treasure as it started radiating its golden glow again, speaking once more.

'One for another,' it went silent after that, and Kadar felt time beginning to move around him once more. The mist he was surrounded by had disappeared, and he was back in that god forsaken room. Kadar heard the sound of Malik's blade sinking into the flesh of the Templar's neck, said Templar choking on his blood as he fell to the ground with Malik's added weight. He also heard footsteps, heavy ones, getting steadily closer to him. He turned around, and was met with a blade to his throat, Robert de Sable's eyes glaring down at him.

"My patience is gone, little Assassin," he growled. Kadar swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing and barely brushing against the sharp tip of the sword. His throat and mouth were suddenly very dry as that very same tip was pressed into his neck, drawing a small, red line into his neck and letting a small bead of blood run down his skin. "It is time for you to disappear."

Kadar's body was frozen, hand still gripping the treasure like a lifeline, chest rising and falling rapidly. His eyes stared at Robert as the sword was pulled back, ready to strike. The sequences of his death that the orb had shown him flashed through his mind, causing him to screw his eyes shut. 'I don't want to die!' his mind screamed, fingers twitching on the orb.

'One for another,' Kadar heard the treasure whisper. In a matter of seconds, Kadar heard various things from behind the darkness of his eyelids. He heard his name being shouted, he heard the yell of fury, the scuttle of leather boots on stone, the sound of metal sinking into flesh, and the sound of a body collapsing to its knees. A warm liquid dripping onto his cheek caused his face to twitch, and he opened his eyes, horrified.

"M-Malik?" he whispered, his voice hoarse.

Malik was kneeling over Kadar, hands clutching on the opened chest, supporting his shaking, sword pierced body. His eyes had a glazed look in them as he looked down at his brother. Blood oozed from where the sword exited his stomach, the tip only centimeters away from Kadar's own chest. He coughed violently, more blood exiting his mouth and splattering Kadar's surprised and grief-stricken face. "I got to you in time," Malik's voice was weak, barely above a whisper.

"Brother no," Kadar's mind had gone blank; his body beginning to shake as he slowly realized what was happening. Malik was right in front of him, dying, dying slowly, painfully because he had protected him. "Malik!" Tears began to shine at Kadar's eyes, threatening to fall.

"Hey now," Malik lowered a shaky hand and drew his thumb across the underside of Kadar's eye, a wet smear of a tear on his skin as he pulled away. "Assassin's don't cry."

It was like a floodgate had opened when Malik softly spoke those words. Kadar's tears fell freely and a sob ripped through him as he watched through bleary eyes as Malik gripped the sword in his stomach as it was jerked on, being threatened to be pulled out.

"Go," Malik hissed, eyes hard as he said the order. Kadar scrambled to his feet, treasure held tightly in his hands. Malik had killed all of the other Templars, so Kadar had a clean getaway as he escaped the temple. As Kadar leaped and ran, sight blurred by tears, the last image of his brother was burned in his mind and replayed itself over and over again. A small, almost unnoticeable smile on his face as Kadar had run past him, hands slowly falling to his sides.


End file.
